Off-Road Trail Proposed for Indian Creek

The BLM is considering a plan to create an OHV (Off-Highway Vehicle) trail in Indian Creek, Utah, that would pass through the popular Creek Pasture campground. Here are excerpts from a note about the trail posted at the Friends of Indian Creek's Facebook page:

"The BLM Office in Monticello has released an Environmental Assessment that analyzes a proposed OHV trail in the Indian Creek area. The Friends of Indian Creek generally does not like to take a stance against other user groups unless their actions will specifically impact our climbing experience. In this case we feel it will. "The proposed OHV route will go through Creek Pasture Campground. As anyone who has camped in the Creek will attest, one of the area's great attributes is the quiet and serenity of the camping scene. Indeed, the Friends of Indian Creek's original mission was to protect climbing and "maintain the character of the camping." We have understood the need to create toilets and formalize the campsites to minimize human impact. However... we feel that the noise and danger of OHVs coming through a campground is counter to much of what we want from a visit to the Indian Creek Corridor. "Besides the fact that the OHV Trail is forced through an existing campground, there are a few points with this plan that do not seem to be well thought through. For instance, the proposed OHV trail was originally said to use existing routes. However... the BLM's own maps specifically show that there is no route from Creek Pasture to Hamburger Rock. This means they will have bring in a bulldozer to create a few miles of road to link Creek Pasture and Hamburger Rock.

The Friends of Indian Creek does not see this as a "Climber vs. OHV'er" conflict. We see this as a problem of location... the trail does not have to go through a campground. This is the public comment period on this proposal, and the BLM does want to hear from us. Keep in mind that form letters have almost no effect. You don't need to write too much, but you do need to put your opinion in your own words. All correspondence has to be at the BLM office in Monticello by December 21, 2011. You can send emails to the following address:UT_Monticello_Comments@blm.gov Printed letters can go to: Bureau of Land Management Monticello Field Office Attn: Maxine Deeter P.O. Box 7 Monticello, Utah 84535 The web address for the actual Environmental Assessment is blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/monticello.html.